Kale chips are a healthy, delicious snack. However, they’re infamously tough to store. Keeping them crispy starts before you even prepare them. Start by drying your leaves completely before cooking them. If you want to add flavor, toss smaller servings with extra ingredients and keep the rest of the batch plain. Let your chips cool to room temperature before storing them in an airtight container. Adding uncooked rice to the bottom of the container will help prevent sogginess. To freshen up stored chips, reheat them in the oven at a low temperature for 15 to 20 minutes.

Steps

Part 1

Keeping Kale Chips Crispy

1

Dry the kale thoroughly before making your chips. The key to keeping kale chips crispy is to make sure your leaves are totally dry before you prepare them. Use a salad spinner or thoroughly pat them dry with paper towels after washing them.[1]

2

Remove the stems before preparing your chips. Kale stems contain lots of moisture, don’t crisp well, and could make your chips soggy when you store them. Snip the stems off and just use the leaves to make your chips.[2]

3

Don’t dress your entire batch of kale with liquid. When you bake your chips, just use cooking spray or toss your leaves with a small amount of oil. If you want to flavor your chips after baking, dress smaller servings with vinegar, more oil, or cheese.[3]

The rest of your batch will store better if it’s not tossed with ingredients that can cause sogginess.

4

Spread your leaves on the baking sheet evenly. Create an even layer of leaves and avoid bunching them. If necessary, bake them in multiple batches. If the leaves are piled on top of each other, they might steam and get soggy.[4]

Part 2

Storing Kale Chips Properly

1

Make sure the chips are completely cool before storing them. If the chips are any warmer than room temperature, they’ll steam once you pop them in a storage container. That excess heat will leave you with soggy chips.[5]

2

Store your chips in an airtight container for up to a week. Plain kale chips are best stored in an airtight container at room temperature. They’ll keep for up to a week, but try to enjoy them within a couple days.[6]

Vacuum sealable glass containers are a great option.[7] However, avoid vacuum seal bags, which will crush your chips.

If you live in a humid environment, try to eat your chips within a couple of days.

3

Refrigerate your chips if you included a perishable ingredient. If you did toss your chips with a perishable ingredient, like cheese, you should refrigerate them.[8]

Avoid refrigerating kale chips if you haven't tossed them with a perishable ingredient. Keep in mind you could dress smaller servings of chips instead of the whole batch.

4

Try storing them in a paper bag. Some kale chip connoisseurs swear by storing chips in a paper bag at room temperature. The paper soaks up extra moisture, which helps keep the chips from getting soggy.[9]

If you try the paper bag method, roll the top of the bag over tightly to keep out as much air as possible.

Store the bag in a dry place, like a pantry. Avoid keeping the bag near a heat source, like a stove.

5

Line the bottom of the container with uncooked rice. Storing kale chips with uncooked rice is a tried and true trick to preserve crispiness. The rice absorbs moisture and prevents sogginess.[10]

6

Toss the chips if they're too soggy or stale. Plain kale chips dried in the oven or with a food dehydrator don't truly spoil for a long time.[11] However, they do go stale, or lose their crunch, and can get soggy to the point of no return.

You can revive properly stored kale chips by reheating them, but they won't be salvageable after 5 to 7 days.

Part 3

Reheating Kale Chips

1

Preheat your oven to 170 °F (77 °C). Wait for your oven to preheat before popping in your chips. Reheating your chips at a low temperature will help crisp them back up without charring them.[12]

2

Reheat the amount you want to eat. If you don't think you'll eat all of your stored chips, don't reheat the entire batch. Reheat the portion you want to eat, and keep the rest in storage.

You probably won't be able to get your chips crispy again if you reheat them more than once.

3

Spread the chips onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Spread the chips in an even layer and avoid crowding them. If they’re bunched up on the baking sheet, reheat them in smaller batches.[13]

If you pile them on top of each other when you reheat them, they might steam and get soggy.

4

Reheat the chips for about 15 to 20 minutes. Turn your oven light on and peek through the window to make sure the chips don’t burn. After 15 to 20 minutes, they should be nice and crispy.[14]

Let them cool off on the baking sheet after you take them out of the oven, then enjoy your healthy snack!

To store kale chips properly, place them in an airtight container after they’ve cooled down from being baked. Seal the container and keep it at room temperature for a week, where they’ll last for up to a week. If you’re worried about them becoming soggy, line the bottom of the container with white rice to soak up extra moisture. When you open the container, check the chips to make sure they aren’t soggy or stale before you enjoy them! If you want to learn how to reheat stored kale chips, keep reading the article!

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This article was co-authored by our trained team of editors and researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness. Together, they cited information from 14 references.